Fashion: What Level You Are On

Earlier this year I went to numerous retailers across Melbourne and complied this detailed report on Prada, Ted Baker, Guess, Hugo Boss, Anaesia, Coco Chanel, Witchery, Cue and Ralph Lauren.

PRADA

Prada is a luxury brand that I visited. When I entered Prada I was welcomed with a man opening the door and handing me champagne, and with spacious areas. I could gaze all around and look at all the beautiful things on display without moving from my spot on the floor. As I looked at Prada’s stock I realized they followed no one’s trend; they create their own. The fabrics used are wool, silk, cotton, polyester and fur.

The people in the store were mostly young women aged between 20 and 29. I am assuming that these people were businesswomen. There was only one older couple that I assume were about 50 years old.

Prada only makes one garment in each size for every store. Chadstone has a very limited stock. All of Prada’s stock comes from Milano Italy. Prada usually prices from $100-$60,000. The garments that they sell are jeans, tops, coats, dresses, scarves, skirts, couture and women’s suits. The accessories that they sell are handbags, shoes, sunglasses and key chains.

Prada at Chadstone is located on the upper level with a lot of foot traffic so it is perfect for people who walk by. Everyone in Prada was really helpful and went out of their way to make me feel welcomed.

The signature that Prada has is that it is soft spoken in its make and nothing over the top garments. The garments are Aspirational in Prada.

TED BAKER

When you enter Ted Baker the floor plan is beautifully spacious but the lights are a little too harsh so you can’t stay in there for too long. Customer service is wonderful; right at the door they asked me what I was looking for and immediately told me that all the sizes on the tags were European and offered assistance in transcribing them. They get garments in each size and they get more than one size and because of this Ted Baker is fashion. They sell jeans, coats, tops, dresses, scarfs, skirts, men’s suits and women’s suits.

Ted Baker targets young woman 17-23, businesswomen 25-32, businessmen 23-29 and the older gentlemen. The way you can tell that you have a Ted Baker outfit is that they do a lot of prints on their garments.

Their garments are imported from China, Italy, and Portugal. Ted Baker follows fashion trends such as pleating, floral, beading, pinks, blues. The garments are made out of wool, silk, cotton, polyester. Prices usually range from $100-$2,000.

Ted Baker at Chadstone is located on the upper level with a lot of foot traffic so it is perfect for people who walk by.

GUESS

Guess has an open floor plan coupled with natural lighting, makes the Guess shop look spacious and welcoming. The shop assistant was helpful. She did not overcrowd me as I browsed through the clothing selection. The prices in Guess range from $30-$1000.

Guess get’s all its stock from China. They get garments in each size and more than one of every size in each store and for that reason the fashion is mass to me. The accessories that they have are sunglasses, watches, handbags, belts, jewellery and flowers. They stock jeans, coats, tops, dresses, women’s suits and skirts. Guess follows trends such as pleating, florals, colours such as blue, black and white.

When you hit the shopping district in Crown, the shop ‘Guess’ hits you right in the face when you enter the shops. Guess caters to young females 16- 25 and older females 30-40. The way you can tell you have a guess outfit it that they are all very plain and do not stand out in the crowd.

HUGO BOSS

Hugo Boss has a well planned out floor plan everything was spacious and welcoming so you didn’t have to shuffle past the displays, they had couches so you can sit down and have a rest. Their clothing follows trends such as florals, pleats and hems that go down to the knee. The customer service was wonderful as soon as I entered the store the people were helpful and didn’t hover around me as I browsed through the items.

There is a wide range of garments, made to measure as well as off the rack. They make more than one size of the garment for each store but the way they make the garment costs more so you know you are getting quality in the garment that you have purchased. Prices of the garments range from $159-$10,000. For this reason Hugo Boss is fashion.

Their garments come from, China, Italy and Turkey. They make coats, tops, dresses, men’s suit, and women’s suits. Their accessories are shoes, sunglasses, handbags, key chains, watches, wallets, scarfs and belts. The fabrics that they use in the garments are wool, cotton, linen, and polyester.

The way you can tell you’re wearing a Hugo boss is that the outfits are conservative in design. Their range is aimed at men 23-50 and women 23-44. Hugo Boss is located in the shopping district of crown thus they get a lot of foot traffic.

ANAESSIA

Anaessia is a shop located in Melbourne in Lonsdale Street. The store has massive foot traffic. The floor plan was open coupled with natural lighting that made the garments stand out. The customer service was abysmal, he was uncouth and would not help me, he seemed reluctant to talk to me and I wonder why he still has a job.

The way you can tell your wearing a Anaessia brand is that they are outspoken and ballerina influenced. The prices ranges from $150 to 6,000 and all garments are made in Australia. The store caters to young women only 17-29.

The way you can tell the dress is Anaessia is the fact that dresses are all ballerina inspired. All the garments are except the big 4,000 dresses are only made in one size each, that is why the store Anaessia is aspirational. They don’t sell any accessories in the store only dresses and skirts.

They do offer fit service.

COCO CHANEL

When I entered Coco Channel I was ignored by the staff, the store was quite large with two floors and with spacious areas. The fabrics used are wool, silk, cotton and polyester. The people in the store were mostly young women aged between 20 and 29; there were also young family’s there.

Coco Chanel much like Prada only makes one garment in each size for every store. They have a very large stock. All of Coco Chanel’s stock comes from France and Italy. Coco Channel has prices from $300-$75,000. The garments that they sell are jeans, tops, coats, scarves, dresses, skirts, couture and women’s suits.

The way you can tell if you have a Coco Chanel is the CC logo on the garment. The garments are Aspirational as they have an exclusive stock. They sell accessories such as hats, sunglasses, scarf’s, and handbags.

Coco Chanel is famous for the little black dress and their jackets.

WITCHERY

When I entered witchery, the lighting was less than ideal although the costumer service was good, no hovering around me as I looked the garments. They follow trends; florals, pleats, beading, black and white colouring in the garments.

The way you can tell if you have a witchery item is the fact they are a very fashion forward brand. All there garments come from China, India and Vietnam.

Prices usually range from $50-$400

Accessories; handbags, shoes, belts, ties, watches and hats.

The garments that they sell are jeans, tops, shirts, skirts, dresses and jackets. Witchery only caters to young women 15-25.

The garments are usually made out of polyester, cotton, silk and wool. Witchery makes more than one garment for every store.

CUE

When I entered Cue everything was crowded and if there was a person beside you couldn’t move, everything about it was overcrowded. The customer service was abysmal as they gave me no help even when I asked for it, eventualy after 20 minutes of waiting I gave up and went to another store. They get the mandatory of their stock from Australia but then a lot of the knits come from China.

Cue is located on the upper levels of Chadstone there is a lot of foot traffic as it is located next to a lot of other fashion shops. Cue makes more than garment for every store this makes Cue garments mass production.

Prices range from $50-$500.

They sell a large range of garments skirts, pants, dresses and coats and shorts. As soon as I entered the store it seemed to me that it only cater to young women and young business women16-26.

The way that you can tell that you are wearing a Cue outfit is exclusive prints that no other brand will have; the fabrics that they use are blends of fabric high-grade polyester and a wool blend.

The accessories that they sell are brooches, cuffs, bracelets, belts, sunglasses, handbags and wallets.

RALPH LAUREN

Ralph Lauren has an open floor plan, with the garments on display, the lights are not too harsh meaning that you can browse for hours. The customer service was great they helped me out and did not hover as I browsed. The fabrics that they use are polyester, wool, cotton, silk and other blends of fabrics.

Caters to Men 19-50, women 23-49 and children 6-12.

They make more than one garment in each size for every store and because this they are fashion. The trends that they follow are black, white, pleating and florals. A lot of there garments come from China and Italy. The way you can tell if you have a Ralph Lauren is label otherwise you cannot tell.

The accessories they sell are handbags, belts, ties, scarfs and wallets.